What is the neuroscience of remote working?

This is a question we have been asked a lot since the start of the pandemic. I normally answer it the same way, explaining how the brain constructs reality and how there is no fundamental barrier to people working brilliantly wherever they are - but that we need to learn how to work well in different environments. However, last week I met with a great leader who helped me see more of what the common problems are…and this has since impacted my normal answer around how you BrainUP when it comes to remote working.

Typically being optimistic, means that I often forget the distinction between something being possible, and it probably happening in organisations. Previously I’d been answering the question around whether or not people can deliver high performance from home affirmatively because in my mind, it is possible. According to the research and a wider picture of how the brain works it can happen. What I wasn’t paying enough attention to though, is that people are totally overloaded, many are exhausted, and so they aren’t really in a good place to start learning new skills, habits and ways of working.

While organinsations may want people to be able to work from home and from the office in varying proportions for a variety of reasons now…that doesn’t mean that they will be good at doing so.

So, what are organisations really crying out for at the moment? What do they really need? Many things are told to us, but one of the most common is people who can solve complex problems and make wise decisions. So, the question then becomes, what does the brain need to do these things. This is a common pattern. Initial questions can take you down the wrong rabbit hole. These days, in complex situations, we need lazer sharp questions that get to the heart of the matter.

How do we BrainUP solving complex problems? This becomes the primary question and focus, and then where people work is part of the answer…but not the primary focus. Well, a core component of complex problem solving is creativity. This is a process that involves at least 4 stages and different brain networks and responds well to different environments. Let’s unpack this a bit. We can use priming as part of some of those processes. Exposing ourselves to things related to the problem we want to solve (perhaps that is customers, or particular places, or products) and also exposure to things that are completely unrelated.

One of the strategies in one of the stages in creativity requires lateral thinking. Considering random, different ideas that may be connected in fresh ways to deliver new insights. When you are with other people they can generate some of these lateral input touch points. They might tell you about a fishing trip they went on at the weekend, and you might ask them to tell you more about what they get out of fishing, helping you to see things from a perspective you hadn’t seen before. Or someone may struggle to translate a word from their mother tongue into English, which might trigger a curious thought in your mind. Or share about an upcoming trip to Disneyland…reminding you about a book you once read about how Walt Disney came up with ideas.

These transient, incidental quick interactions normally aren’t planned. They just crop up. The way most virtual meetings are created, they don’t pop up as frequently…if at all. People tend to want to ‘stay on track’. But without them, you miss a great source of inspiration.

Another core component to solving complex problems is state management. One of the great potential benefits of being around other human beings is how they can impact emotional regulation. If you have people with positive emotions the contagion that can occur can lift their colleagues. If you are feeling down about something not going to plan, a colleague could spot the signs of this and reframe things for you. Encourage you. Reassure you. But it goes further than just emotions like optimism or positive vibes. Consider the value of curiosity. We don’t fully understand all the mechanisms that underpin emotional contagion, but at the very least we know that people’s state ‘rub off’ on each other. Thoughts can trigger similar or spin off thoughts. People’s states affect their ability to come up with new ideas. Quality ideas.

Another critical strategy for complex problem solving is to utilise incubation. Not working on the problem all the time. Not thinking about the problem. Short breaks, different stimuli. Of course…these opportunities can be found at home. A walk (can you distract yourself away from your work enough?), doing the dishes, playing with the dog. Some people have great strategies and are coming up with genius ideas from home. However, some people have their diaries back to back with ‘Teams’ calls. They barely come up for air. Giving a problem time to incubate is wishful thinking. In the office, some of these breaks are naturally built into the rhythms of the day, but typically more could be done even there to create more space for people to pause.

There are many other considerations for creating high performing neural environments for our people. We urge companies to start first with what their people need to do, rather than where they are going to do it. What do you need from them? Then ask how can they do that best? (Ask us about what the brain considerations are!). Then the answers become clearer and more congruent.

To answer well what the neuroscience of remote working is - we need first to know what your people need to do when they are working.

---

Thanks for reading this edition of the BrainUP newsletter, I hope you enjoyed the topic this week. Here are some ways to learn about insights and applications of neuroscience in business and your life:?

?1. Visit our Learning Lab:

→ Get more resources to learn more about how brains work and how they are critical to organisational development.?

2. Join me for Live events - leave with practical applications of the sciences:?

→ Follow me on LinkedIn, where I post live event details, and much more on neuroscience and work. Live Events are always free to join.

3. Subscribe to receive more newsletters full of tips on how to level up your brain:?

→ Join over 5,000 subscribers, subscribe to receive weekly BrainUP newsletters.